Can I break my lease if I have cockroaches?

Asked Jul 4, 2010, 09:50 AM
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13 Answers

Here is my problem... I signed a lease before I knew about the roach infestation and they have been trying to help but its not working... its been 4 months of disqusting bugs on my food and dishes, in my bathroom and even in the bedroom! I'm tired of the bug guy coming and spraying harmful chemical around me and my 6 pound pom. We recently found more things that do pass Florida statutes.. what is the first step to getting out of a lease?

Florida rental and you did not check for bugs? You have not told us how you notified the landlord and how many times he has had the "bug guy" out. The LL needs to be given reasonable time and attempts to fix the issue. If you think you have done this then follow Judy's advice and give him a 10 day notice to remediate the problem.

Yes, most properties at one time or another gets bugs, I have a "bug guy" *** a very good company, come out very three months and spray my home, and every once in a while they have to come back out again.

So hiring a professional licensed "bug guy" and allowing time to get rid of the bugs is what needs to happen

Mystikdawn, please respond by typing in the blank box below the other responses. Do not click on rate this answer. You said you were there for 4 months but never stated when the bug guy started his spraying. More details would help.

mystikdawn, please respond by typing in the blank box below the other responses. Do not click on rate this answer. You said you were there for 4 months but never stated when the bug guy started his spraying. More details would help.

Ballanger, apparently the new skin permits limited comments without rating the answer.

Mystikdawn, You have more room if you answer instead of commenting on an answer.

As one great Philosopher once put it. "To different people the world is a heaven and to others it is a hell". Some people can live with Cockroaches and it doesn't bother them. On the other hand I am not only deathly afraid of them but IMO they are the most disgusting of all pests and believe me I have lived with my share of pests.

For what its worth, I have the same issue with the cockroaches. The thing is my apartment complex sprays regularly also and have done so now for several years. Still I see them and I am on the top floor. However, I lucked out because my lease provides an option to break the lease with a few months of rent. Its not just the cockroaches for me but that was sort of the last straw in a long and exhausting string of troubles I have had since day one of moving in here.

As for your problem. Yes, you do have the option of getting out of your lease but you have to be careful and be very dilligent about it. First contact your management again via letter and tell them that despite their best efforts(I use that term loosely) that the cockroach problem is still present and ask them if they will allow you to break the lease due to this.

If they will not then you have two options well 3 if you include hiring an attorney. First option is to write a letter again giving them maybe 30 days to cure the insect problem. State in the letter that if they don't you will be moving out. State the ways that its affecting your ability to enjoy your apartment. You might also want to throw in some of your states laws about it being the landlord's duty to control the pests and how having pests affects habitation in your apartment.

When you get a chance Google a little thing called "constructive eviction" and you will understand what I am hinting towards.

Second option is to go down to the local court and escrow your rent money with them instead of paying the landlord. That way they will be given a specific time to cure the problem and if they don't you can ask the judge to legally terminate the lease.

Third option is to hire an attorney to draft a letter for you asking landlord to cure or let you out of the lease. I did this with a prior landlord and it worked like a charm and this guy was tough as nails and had a reputation for suing tenants. No landlord likes getting a letter from an attorney trust me.

I don't know where you live but I am in a state that is not tenant friendly and still I was able to get out of a lease where there was no option to get out in the lease by using the third option.

Also For future reference make sure before signing any lease that there is a clause that allows you to terminate your lease early. If there is not one then do not agree to sign that lease unless you can add your own said clause. Trust me it is better to be safe than sorry.

The OP does not have to give "double notice." The landlord is already aware of the problem as the property has been treated, however unsuccessfully. Terminex has been there 4 times.

Don't state that they've used their best efforts - the argument is that they haven't used their best efforts (the roaches are still there). If they had used their best efforts the problem would be solved. Therefore, they are negligent.

It is an error to hand ammunition to the landlord concerning how the roaches have affected the way of living - there are roaches; landlord is not able to get rid of them; living conditions are unsanitary; tenant wants out of the lease.

In my State you cannot simply go to the Courthouse and begin putting the rent payments in an escrow account. There has to be a Court hearing which allows this or the unpaid rent becomes a violation of the lease. It takes time to schedule the hearing and I don't think OP wants to wait that long.

Tenant sends notice that the apartment is uninhabitable and, therefore, unhealthy and unsafe and therefore tenant wants out of the lease and is moving.

Landlord may consent; landlord may try to enforce the lease. No way to know. If landlord sues for the balance of the rent then OP goes to Small Claims Court with info (as I suggested) and argues his/her position.

I don't know what you mean by a clause that allows for an early end to the lease - I'm a property owner. I don't see the point in a lease if the tenant has such a clause and can leave early. Why not just rent month to month? I would not sign such a clause. Obviously if my property is a danger the tenant has the legal right to leave - which is the case here.

And of course, and I am sure this is not the tenant, but if as a landlord I came in and they always had dirty dishes, trash in bags in the home, a lot of cardboard and more in the home, no one can get rid of them. Also what did the "bug company" say, about why they are not getting rid of them.

And of course, and I am sure this is not the tennant, but if as a landlord I came in and they always had dirty dishes, trash in bags in the home, alot of cardboard and more in the home, no one can get rid of them. Also what did the "bug company" say, about why they are not getting rid of them.

Now you're back on my turf, Chuck. Multi-unit dwellings do present special challenges in eliminating infestations, particularly if only one unit at a time is treated. This infestation sounds to be fairly widespread through the building, so untreated insects can spread back into a treated area almost immediately. Sanitation issues add another layer of difficulty, especially if the unit above or beside the unit in question has the issues and they aren't brought to the landlord's attention.

Infestations in large buildings are solved every day, but proper cleanout of a building is expensive in both time and dollars.

- but if we are talking about whether it is legal to break the lease, everything else aside, the landlord has a responsibility to provide an inhabitable, safe space. Probably arguments on both sides of this but I say tenant can give notice and leave.

Yes, it's expensive - I'm a landlord and I've had tenants arrive and bring their own roaches with them and then complain BUT it was my responsibility to provide an inhabitable space.

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